Disclaimer: I do not own of the characters in this chapter.

Chapter 4

DIAGON ALLEY

"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

You couldn't explain it in another way. For the first time in his life, Artemis Fowl the Second was 'amazed' at the sight he saw.

They stepped through the archway. Artemis looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop.

Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

"Yeah, yeh'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, 'but we gotta get yer money first."

Artemis wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Artemis's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Artemis heard one of them say, "the new Firebolt four… fastest ever…" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments that even Artemis Fowl had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...

When Artemis directed his vision to the front, he saw that they were heading for a snowy white building that towered over the others by its side. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was a creature the like of which Artemis had never seen before.

When Artemis turned towards Hagrid, he said, "This is Gringotts. The Wizards' Bank, yeh know. This is where wizards store all their stuff. Safest place in the world, I say. Well, 'xcept may be Hogwarts. This is where yeh'll convert yer muggle money in ter wizarding money. And by the way, that's a goblin," finally pointing towards the creature which had intrigued Artemis as to what it was.

The three of them walked the stone steps towards the goblin, who bowed as they walked inside. He was half-a-feet shorter than Artemis and had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Artemis noticed, very long fingers and feet. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

"Yeh'd be mad ter try and rob it," Hagrid said matter-of-factly.

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. The three of them made for the counter.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin, "We're here to change some muggle money in ter wizard money."

"Very well. How much money would you like to exchange?" the goblin asked grim-facedly.

"Give 'im whatever yeh've got. We'll change after finishin' the shoppin', come on, now!" said Hagrid.

Butler removed the five-hundred euro from his pocket and handed to the goblin. It seemed at first that the goblin was caressing over the currency notes. After a minute or so, the goblin called over to another goblin, "Ragnuk, get me sixty-seven galleons, eleven sickles and six knuts. Quick now, hurry up!"

A goblin sitting on one of the high stools behind the counter rose and brought some money. "Here, Wulkook," he said and handed over the money. "Here you go," Wulkook said, handing over the money which Hagrid hastily took and handed over to Artemis. He continued, "If you wish to change your money back to euro, you can come later after finishing your job here. Of course, you can keep the wizard money to yourself if you are not interested in taking back your euros."

"Let's keep goin' then," said Hagrid and the three of them started moving towards the stone steps.

Artemis had planned the day before itself the order of buying his First Year requirements. He would buy the uniform first, then his school books, then his cauldron, then his basic potion ingredients, then his wand, and finally, his pet.

As they arrived outside Gringotts, Artemis said, "Professor Hagrid, I've planned out all my shopping. Only if you could give us our Portkey, I think we'll manage the rest on our own."

"D'yeh know where to buy yer stuff, boy?" Hagrid asked with a grin that seemed to tell that he had just defeated Artemis in a long debate.

"Yes Professor, I just saw all the shops on our way. I just thought that you might have more important business to attend to than teaching me about Diagon Alley. I'll also get to learn more through experience. Moreover, I have Butler with me," replied Artemis coolly.

"'Course, right yeh are, boy, and quite observant yeh are, I agree, but are yeh sure yeh can manage without me? If somethin' goes amiss, Professor McGonagall'll kill me…"

"I don't think I need to worry about anything while I have Butler by my side, Professor."

"Here yeh go then, boy, this is yer Portkey…" Hagrid said, handing over an empty plastic bottle, "This leaves in about two hours. So better finish all yer shoppin' by then. And remember, yeh aren't allowed ter use magic outside of school. Take care."

"Thank you, Professor, thank you very much for the help you provided," said Artemis.

"That's nothing, boy, nothin' at all… and what is yer name by the way?" Hagrid asked.

His idea had worked. Artemis smiled. "Artemis, Professor. Artemis Fowl," replied Artemis.

Then Hagrid hurried along to the solid wall from which they had first emerged into Diagon Alley.

"What was all that about, Artemis? Asking him to go away… we're not even familiar with this place…" Butler said.

Artemis smiled again. He said, "He is Control and Care of Magical Creatures teacher at school. And he said that those detestable goblins are clever cunning creatures. Also, he said that the magical creatures were all interesting ones. All this leads to one thing: he is impressed by trust and intelligence, which, if I am not much mistaken, he has not had the opportunity to exercise or show. Then, it seems, that he has developed a liking to those who have power and intelligence. I showed him both; by showing him how observant I was, I proved that I was intelligent, and by referring to you that I would be safe at your hands, I showed him that I trusted people. So…"

"So one of the school teachers impressed, before even you start attending school!" Butler completed for Artemis.

"More than a teacher, Butler. You see, he said that he was also the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, as well as keeper of keys and grounds," Artemis said with a smile.

"I think you should be given honors in an M.E. degree, you know," said Butler.

"I must disagree, Butler, because I do not know," said Artemis, "and by the way, what is M.E., Master of Exploitation?" asked Artemis, chuckling.

"You knew what was in my mind," said Butler, "and you almost always do. Only Artemis Fowl," and he concluded.

"I knew he was impressed the moment he asked for my name," said Artemis, "for he had never even chanced to see my name. He had not thought it necessary till then. But now that he was impressed, he wanted to know me. His sub-conscious has recorded that I am an important friend of his now. But out in his conscious mind, he will only just like me. Impressions can be only made if you touch the sub-conscious mind of the person. And now that I've made an impression on him, I can worm out more-than-important things out of him, if I have the wit."

Butler was blindly following Artemis and trying to imagine Master Artemis to be witless. He chuckled to himself. That was possibly the strangest thought that had struck him in his life.

"I've decided to buy my uniform first, Butler. This is Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions. You just wait here. I'll come soon.

Artemis entered. Madam Malkin was squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.

Before Artemis could say anything, she said, "Hogwarts, dear? Got the lot – come here -"

She stood him on a stool, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length. After some five minutes or so, she said, "That's you done my dear," she said, "how many robes would you like?"

Artemis said, "If I remember correctly, I need three sets of plain and black work robes, a plain and black pointed hat for day wear, a pair of protective gloves made from dragon hide or something similar, and a black winter cloak with silver fastenings, all of which should carry a name tag. So it makes four robes, a hat and a glove. And to tell simply, which is the answer for question, the uniform requirements of a First Year student at Hogwarts."

Though she looked both confused and highly impressed, she became a bit nervous. No first year had ever spoken to her like this. The boy's voice commanded an authority that she had seen before in only one boy… the one who even Dumbledore had agreed was the most brilliant student that Hogwarts had ever seen…

"Here you go," she said, and hurried him to the exit.

Artemis did always confuse and impress anyone he met, but make someone nervous? That was rare… and the woman had looked at him as though he was some terrible thing, as though she wished she had never seen him. Why was it? He knew for sure that she had been reminded of some terrible incident of the past. He could tell that much from her look. But such a cool reply didn't make anyone nervous… for the first time in his life, Artemis couldn't explain why this was happening. Obviously, it was something to do with the magical world. He vowed to find it out soon…

Next, he went to Flourish and Blotts' with Butler, where he bought all his school books. He also bought some extra books for extra reading. He was sure he would still finish all the books within two days. The shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all.

He then went to the cauldron shop according to the plan, and bought himself a pewter cauldron for five galleons. He bought a nice set of brass scales for buying potion ingredients and then bought a collapsible brass telescope. Then Artemis and Butler visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined he walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. Artemis examined the silver unicorn hairs and the minuscule, glittery-black eyes. Then, he bought his supply of basic potion ingredients. He also bought a Crystal phial there itself.

All that was left now was his wand and his pet. Though he didn't know which was better, intuitively he chose an owl to be his best companion. He didn't like cats that much, and so didn't he like toads. But for owls, they seemed different. Artemis had worked out that owls carried letters in the wizarding world, as he was expected to 'owl' the Headmistress about his joining the school by the Thirty-first of July. Obviously he was supposed to send a letter to her. So owls served as a means of communication. But cats and toads weren't likely candidates for the job, as neither could fly and hence cross over the difficult relief or terrain. So, an owl, he thought, was the best choice. Moreover, if he didn't buy an owl, how would he send a letter to the Headmistress if he didn't have an owl?

At that point, Artemis had reached the last shop. It was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C'. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

A magic wand… that was what Artemis had been really looking forward to. He felt a tingle of excitement as he entered the shop with Butler. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Butler sat on to wait. Artemis felt strangely as though he had

entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Butler had jumped, because Artemis heard a crunching noise and Butler quickly got off the spindly chair.

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander," Artemis replied coolly as though neither the man's appearance nor Butler's jumping had affected him in the slightest. And they really hadn't. "I am Artemis Fowl," he concluded.

Ollivander winced. For some reason, even the name made him shiver. His intuition had rarely been wrong. "Which is your wand arm, Mr. Fowl?" he queried gravely, at the same time pulling a long tape measure with silver markings on it.

"Why, my right arm, of course," Artemis replied casually, holding out his right arm. Again, this old man had become nervous just after hearing his name. Surely, his name couldn't be a terrible thing? Artemis was confused. Why did Madam Malkin and Ollivander behave like this? His determination to find out what was wrong grew only stronger.

Ollivander measured Artemis from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Fowl. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands

are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

The tape measure started measuring of its own and Ollivander started flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

After some time, he came hurrying toward Artemis and said, "Here. Maple and Dragon heartstring. Eleven inches precisely. Nice and whippy. Now give it a wave."

Artemis took the wand and waved it. Suddenly, Ollivander snatched it away and held out another wand, saying, "Beechwood and unicorn hair. Eight-and-a-half inches. Flexible and Springy. You know what to do."

Again, Artemis gave it a wave. This time, a glass-case nearest to the wand shattered. Ollivander snatched the wand away again and murmured something that sounded like not at all, not at all. Then he came up with another wand that was ebony and phoenix feather, ten-and-a-quarter inches, and which was nice and supple. Apparently, that wand too didn't do what Ollivander had expected it to, and he snatched it way. After trying a dozen or so wands, none of which worked well for him, Artemis became nervous. What if none of the wand suited him. A wand was the object with which one did most of the magic, as the Headmistress had said. What if…

When he was wondering this, Ollivander came up with another wand. He looked grave and old, the same expression returning on his face when he had first heard Artemis's name. He spoke, in what looked like a sad tone, "Yew and phoenix feather. Thirteen-and-a-half inches precisely. Strong and powerful."

On hearing Ollivander's words, Artemis hoped beyond hope that this wand worked for him. It was exactly as he had wanted; a powerful and strong wand.

As Artemis held the wand, he felt warmth spread through his fingers. He swished and waved the wand; a stream of red and gold sparks shot out from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. He knew at once that this was his wand; he even wondered if you really had to wantthe wand to own it. Ollivander turned, if possible, even graver and paler. Artemis couldn't resist more, "What is it, Mr. Ollivander, which troubles you?"

"Nothing, my boy, nothing. Only that I sold a similar wand years and years ago. You just triggered that memory into me," replied Ollivander.

"And it was a bad memory, wasn't it?" Artemis asked.

Ollivander observed him carefully. Then he said, "Seven galleons, Mr. Fowl. I wish to speak no more."

So there was definitely something to it, thought Artemis. He would find that out soon enough. He paid Ollivander seven galleons and left for Eeylops owl emporium.

There, he bought a brown owl and decided to name him later. He checked on his time.

"Butler," he shouted, "we have only a minute left before the Portkey leaves!"

Butler became serious and rushed towards Artemis. Artemis removed the empty bottle from his pocket and held it out so Butler could hold it.

Artemis felt the same hook behind his navel and felt his feet lift off the ground. Within seconds, he was standing in front of his house. He kicked the bottle away and thought…

Artemis Fowl the Second, a wizard… and one with a powerful and strong wand… only if his father had known… he would have been proud…

Note: Please review. This is my first fanfic!